ebitnews

exchange called Coinrail was hacked. According to a statement released by Coinrail, their platform experienced what they are calling a “cyber intrusion”, an event that resulted in the theft of about 30 percent of the coins traded on the exchange. In the hours following the hack, bitcoin dropped over $500, bottoming out at $6,720 on Sunday according to LiveCoinWatch.com.

The price has recovered slightly but with investors in every market concerned about potential security risks, people are slow to return and trading volumes have decreased significantly across the board. We will likely see a gradual return to a level above the $7,000 mark in the near future but with each security breach, the need for more stringent measures, regulatory involvement, and even government oversight become more apparent.

Relatively speaking, this was by no means the most coins lost in a single hack but the continued prevalence of these massive breaches in security may lead people in the community to support the imposition of more widespread regulation. A move that would greatly increase the confidence people have in the cryptocurrency market. Continuing down this path of regulatory uncertainty where a criminal can breach the security of a trading platform and the government can do nothing to step in and protect the consumer would mean the end of cryptocurrency adoption.

What makes matters more complicated, several exchanges are under investigation for potential price manipulation on their platforms, making their users buy coins at artificially inflated values. Companies like Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, and itBit have been told they need to share all trading data connected to Bitcoin Futures contracts since the shorting of those contracts at the end of December were partly responsible for such a massive drawback in price. Until people start filtering back into a market that has been stabilized by some form of a regulatory framework, we might continue to see a continuation of this bear cycle we are in.

It was announced today that the Japanese bank SBI has launched the first bank-owned cryptocurrency exchange through the use of the Ripple Net. The financial giant will focus trading only on Ripple (XRP) tokens for the time being but has hinted at adding bitcoin and even bitcoin cash to their listings in the future. However, there has been no timeline given for when other coins will be added to the platform.

SBI has been working with Ripple for some time now and operates a subsidiary called SBI Ripple Asia, a company that has been testing the viability of the Ripple Network and blockchain implementation in international exchanges and money transfers between large institutions who need fast transactions and low fees.

According to the announcement made by SBI, the 20,000 pre-registered users will be able to trade XRP/JPY and incur no fees for making trades including all buy and sell orders. After a period of about a month in this testing phase, the exchange will be opened up to the general public and then anyone will be able to create an account and trade through their bank if they use SBI for their normal banking practices

While this is an interesting concept, the idea of a centralized, bank-owned cryptocurrency exchange might not be the most attractive thing to a cryptocurrency user who has been used to the decentralization and anonymity that comes with using other trading services. However, this new platform will be especially useful for companies to transfer money across international borders with the help of the Ripple Consensus Ledger. The preliminary tests of the network have been promising so it is likely that we will see more instances of Ripple being utilized by traditional establishments to bring them into the cryptocurrency fold.

Throughout the evolution of blockchain, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and cryptocurrency, several different network structures and consensus mechanisms have emerged, beyond traditional proof-of-work blockchains. Among these innovations are proof-of-stake blockchains, byzantine fault tolerant blockchains, and an interesting network structure known as a directed acyclic graph (DAG).

DAGs are not the same as blockchains from an architectural standpoint, though some utilize similar consensus mechanisms, such as those based on delegated proof-of-stake. The network structure of DAGs differs from that of traditional blockchains because node transactions are only chained with other participating node data, creating many distinct chains of transactions. The ‘graph’ part of directed acyclic graph just refers to the idea that nodes in the network are connected to other nodes based on transactions. The ‘directed’ part means those connections have a source and a destination, based on the sender and receiver of funds. ‘Acyclic’ means that the connection path, based on the flow of funds from one node to another, cannot loop back to the originating node. That is, even if some node along the chain sends funds back to the originating node, the originating node will appear again along the chain, since connections can only go one way. Due to this structure, DAGs are more like a tree of many blockchains.

DAGs are no better or worse than traditional blockchains, but just different and useful for different things. They are particularly adept at handling very high transaction throughput, as well as high volumes of data. On the other hand, traditional blockchains are better for security and reliability. That is not to say DAGs are not secure, but they are a relatively new and untested technology.

Since DAGs can handle high transaction throughput, they are useful for working with Internet of Things (IoT) data. IoT data is often streamed in real-time for applications such as self driving cars, medical devices, smart homes, and others. In order for many connected smart devices to function properly, they require high data granularity. DAGs can take IoT sensor data as input and verify and execute related transactions, or anything else than can be triggered with a smart contract. One example of this is the IOTA project, which aims to create a data marketplace for IoT data using a decentralized DAG network structure.

Another example of DAG technology is a cryptocurrency known as nano. Nano uses an architecture known as a “block lattice”, where each node has its own blockchain, consisting of its own send and receive transactions. The network was built to be lightweight, support very high transaction throughput, and execute transactions instantly. Due to the nature of the consensus mechanism, network transactions are feeless. The goal of the nano team is to gain mainstream adoption of the coin as an alternative currency, however, many skeptics argue that this is infeasible due to the lack of an inflation mechanism to encourage spending of the coin. These critics believe nano would be better suited to serve a more functional purpose as an exchange coin pairing for major currencies, due to its speed.

DAG architectures are also ideal for distributed ledgers which must support and extremely high volume of data. Dapps for data intensive applications like machine learning would require a DAG architecture to handle the quantity of data being processed and moved around the network at once. Additionally, if using a DAG, fees per mB will be significantly lower for these applications compared to the fees incurred from a standard blockchain.

DAGs are another exciting innovation in distributed ledger technology, and it will be interesting to see their evolution. Internet of Things is a particularly interesting use case, though the DAG architecture is likely suited to a variety of other valuable use cases as well.

Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, has come out in support of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. He has stated that he does not know if Bitcoin will over come fiat currencies to become the global currency but hopes that this will be the case eventually. Speaking with CNBC Steve Wozniak stated, “I buy into what Jack Dorsey says, not that I necessarily believe it’s going to happen, but because I want it to be that way, that is so pure thinking.” Dorsey is the CEO of social media companies Twitter and also Square, a digital payment processor. Dorsey believes that Bitcoin will be the worlds only currency in due time and even stated that it could happen perhaps within one decade from now.

Wozniak has been a longtime supporter of Bitcoin even though he decided to sell most of his crypto portfolio after stating that he was spending too much time watching the price fluctuations. He reportedly first bought Bitcoin when it was $700. He also owns some Ethereum (ETH). Wozniak talked to CNBC about Bitcoin saying, “Bitcoin is mathematically defined, there is a certain quantity of bitcoin, there’s a way it’s distributed… and it’s pure and there’s no human running, there’s no company running and it’s just… growing and growing… and surviving, that to me says something that is natural and nature is more important than all our human conventions.” Wozniak says that he is most interested in Bitcoin over the ever-growing number of other cryptocurrencies due to how it is decentralized.

Only bitcoin is pure digital gold… and I totally buy into that. All the others tend to give up some of the aspects of bitcoin. For example, being totally decentralized and having no central control. That’s the first one they have to give up to try to have a business model.

Wozniak made his first mark in the tech industry in 1976 when him and Steve Jobs founded Apple and launched the first Apple computers.

Beach town Agnes Water, Australia, is denominating itself as the country’s first ‘digital currency town’ as part of a marketing campaign aiming to attract international travelers fond of crypto and technology, so as to increase tourism to the area, their primary industry.

A total of more than 30 businesses comprised of but not only accommodation providers, restaurants, tour operators and even the local pub will now be accepting cryptocurrencies. The small town of 2000 permanent residents now has a welcome sign that reads ‘Welcome to Agnes Water-1770, Australia’s First Digital Currency Town’, showing the logos for popular cryptocurrencies bitcoin, bitcoin cash, NEM, litecoin, and ethereum, displaying their support for them.

Gordon Christian, local real estate agent, started looking into accepting crypto after a client explored how to proceed regarding a bitcoin payment for property purchase. Christian said selling the idea of accepting crypto to other businesses wasn’t easy. He told ABC News:

“We started from the ground up, shared it with a couple of businesses and they were straight on board … I guess they were international travelers themselves and had heard of these types of payments. Initially, we had a good 10 businesses that just said, ‘Fine — let’s go for it’.”

Arty Cipak, local tourism operator added:

“If it’s going to take cryptocurrency to get tourists to town, then bring it on.”

These businesses are accepting cryptocurrency payments through TravelbyBit, a Queensland-based start-up focusing on crypto payments processing.

TravelbyBit CEO Caleb Yeoh said:

“We’ve got merchants all over Australia but they’re very sporadic. [Agnes Water and] the Town of 1770 has the highest concentration. The town has made a very strategic move in trying to appeal to a niche market to take perhaps some of those tourists … to come out to their little part of the woods,”

Yeoh added that traveling with one global currency like Bitcoin makes sense since travelers don’t have to deal with exchange rates and don’t have to carry cash with them at all times.

Maqta Gateway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, created its own blockchain solution for international trade and logistics. The blockchain-based technology is called ‘Silsal’ (Arabic for chain) and Maqta Gateway hopes that it will improve efficiency in the logistics and shipping industry. Silsal will be a digital ledger that people involved with trade can record and receive details on transactions with higher levels of security, transparency and efficiency. The company will first offer Silsal to freight forwarders and their customers before expanding to rest of the trade community as a complementary tool to Maqta’s Port Community System (mPCS). Their customers include shipping agents, traders, custom brokers, freight forwarders and clearing agents.

Silsal will give the industry the ablility for real-time cargo tracking and will improve the efficiency of international trade by creating paperless documents. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has estimated that blockchain technology could save 20 percent of the expenses from physical transportation and could cut costs by up to $1 trillion in global trade. “Technology is a crucial driver for the future of the shipping, logistics and trade industry and blockchain is a key step in the digitalization of trade,” says CEO of Maqta gateway Dr. Noura Al Dhaheri. There will be many eyes watching as Maqta Gateway tries to successfully implement the technology. The CEO of FedEx has spoke about blokcchain technlogoy being used in the shipping industry calling it the next digital frontier for global supply chains.

Security of the information being shared between trade actors and their customers is the biggest takeaway from this new blockchain application. Through the use of Silsal there is no longer a need for passwords, which are susceptible to being stolen. Dhaheri commenting on this stating, “Not only have we introduced our own blockchain offering, but we have also invented our own form of digital identity. This will eliminate the need for access through passwords which can often be a security risk.”

After EOS successfully transitioned its main network from the first stage to the second phase, the election to become a block producer has started. An EOS block producer is responsible to produce blocks in the EOS blockchain and will be the decentralized bodies that are voted in to govern the EOS network. There is a lot of responsibility given to an EOS block producer since they are in charge of the blockchain, thus they are rightfully rewarded with EOS tokens – approximately 1% of the 5% EOS token inflation that occurs.

There can only be 21 block producers, how does the voting system work?

Elections started June 2nd and will end when 15% of the total EOS tokens (150 million/1 billion) vote. In the beginning, 21 block producers will be chosen at random, once the voting round ends, the 21 elected block producers will be given their positions. There are elections constantly so if a candidate isn’t doing a good job, he can easily be replaced.

The candidates

Anyone can become a block producer, but they will need resources and backing to support their case. Some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency have applied to become a block producer. Some that stand out are Huobi pros mining pool, Bitfinex, Bitcoins Antpool, and other 100 applicants.

Pros and cons

A DPOS governing like EOS is using with block producers is that it mining monopolies from controlling the network, thus minimizing the chances of 51% attacks. The downside is that the network becomes more centralized and controlled by a selected few.

Dan Larimer has introduced DPOS as a new consensus and governing body within the blockchain ecosystem. He has been criticized by Ethereums founder Vitalik Buterin due that he considered the new system too centralized. This is a healthy competition between two geniuses wanting to promote a better blockchain and bring decentralized apps for mainstream use by users worldwide.

Who do you think will win the elections and become an EOS block producer?

Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, headquartered in California, is expanding its operations to Japanese markets. Japan accounts for a majority of global bitcoin trading volume (~60%) and has over 3.5 million active traders. Coinbase operates in 32 countries, not including its soon to be Japanese operations. They have over 20 million customers, which is more than regulated brokerages such as Charles Schwab, and as many as Fidelity Investments. The company plans to apply for a license to operate an exchange with Japan’s financial regulatory entity, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), within a year.

“As in other markets, we plan to take a deliberate approach to our roll out in Japan, which means working hand-in-hand with the Japanese FSA to ensure compliance with local laws at every stage. As a regulated, compliant crypto company in the U.S., we will focus on building that same level of trust with new customers in Japan.”

According to people familiar with the matter, Coinbase is working with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a Japanese bank holding and financial services company, to integrate its operations into Japanese markets. MUFG is a long-time Coinbase investor, having invested over 1 billion Yen ($9.1 million USD) in the company since 2004.

Coinbase hopes to support bitcoin and ethereum trading for Japanese customers at first, and possibly expand to other assets in the future. If they cannot secure the license needed to offer crypto trading services, they will create a banking partnership with MUFG.

Coinbase is a rapidly growing crypto exchange, having reported $1 billion in revenue in 2017, and valuing itself at roughly $8 billion recently. Its expansion into Japan could help the company secure and maintain a position as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

Sinagapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has launched a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF), allowing investors to gain investment exposure to the recently launched Huobi 10 index, which tracks the ten largest cryptocurrencies by market cap and liquidity traded on the Huobi exchange. ETFs allow investors to invest in a basket of assets, weighted by either market cap or price, rather than just individual assets. It is an effective diversification tactic, but unfortunately most exchanges’ attempts at launching cryptocurrency-based ETFs have been shot down due to strict regulations, especially in the US. Some critics argue that Huobi’s new ETF, known as HB10, is not a true ETF since it is not traded on a regulated securities exchange.

The ETF is open to both retail investors and institutional investors. While the ETF cannot be purchased using fiat currency, it can be purchased using bitcoin, ether, USDT, or Huobi tokens (HT). The minimum investment amount is about $100. The constituent coins in the ETF are as follows: HT, BTC, EOS, ETH, BCH, XRP, IOST, LTC, ETC, and DASH.

Huobi’s HB10 ETF is currently not available to U.S. customers due to a lack of definitive regulations surrounding cryptocurrency ETFs. Touting itself as the “weather vane of digital assets”, HB10 is groundbreaking for two reasons: it is one of the first cryptocurrency ETFs offered by an established exchange, and it is open to retail investors. Retail investors generally have large capital restrictions, preventing them from investing the minimum required amount in cryptocurrency index funds.

Huobi suggests that HB10 has the potential to help retail investors more easily diversify. They also claim it will help to smooth market volatility and “reduce the impact of institutional entry and exit” on individual cryptos. Huobi is one of a handful of firms that have created indexes to track cryptocurrencies, including Coinbase, Grayscale Investments, and Bitwise Asset Management. With this said, Huobi is the only firm offering a retail investor accessable ETF that tracks its index.

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has revealed plans to launch a $1 billion venture capital fund to help develop blockchain and cryptocurrency startups. In terms of daily trading volume Binance is currently the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The fund will use Binance’s BNB tokens to invest in these companies and is seeking “20 qualified partners” to join. The press release from Binance states, “Eligible fund partners should be long-term investors who have faith in cryptocurrency and blockchain, and have asset-under-management of more than US$100 million. Applicants need to prove their fund size, and submit introduction of their team members and investment portfolios to be considered by Binance Lab as a partner.” Binance is currently headquartered in Hong Kong with plans to relocate to Malta after Japanese regulators cracked down on cryptocurrency exchanges in the country earlier this year.

The venture capital fund’s first investment will be a blockchain ride hailing startup founded by the CEO of Funcity and founder of Chinese ride-hailing comapny Kuaidi Dache. The ride hailing company has been referred to as a blockchain version of Uber. The company recently merged with Didi Chuxing, a $60 billion firm.

Binace expects to fund these investments in 10 phases of $100 million investments that will create a combination of “fund of funds”. This essentially means that they will create a fund that invests in other funds and then they will also create a separate direct fund to invest directly in blockchain initiatives. The fund will be called a “Social Impact Fund”.

Coinbase, another leading cryptocurrency exchange also announced this year their plans to create a venture capital fund for blockchain startups. Coinbase announced their plans stating, “We’re going to invest off our balance sheet into crypto companies. We will invest in companies that are in the space and are aligned with our values.”

Primary Sidebar

Bitcoin Price Marketwatch

Voted the #1 BEST Bitcoin Cryptocurrency reference tool by CRYPT Invest Magazine. Get the same data used by professional cryptocurrency bitcoin traders to buy & sell bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Bitcoin Radio is currently tracking nearly 1400 cryptocurrencies with a quick and easy reference tool.